FBI won't charge Petraeus mistress

The mistress of former CIA head Gen. David Petraeus will not be charged with cyberstalking, the United States Department of Justice confirmed Tuesday.

Attorneys for Paula Broadwell say that the woman blamed for bringing down the country’s top intelligence officer won’t face any federal charges related to “alleged acts of cyberstalking,” according to a letter they released Tuesday from Assistant US Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow.

"As the target of our investigation, we believe it is appropriate to advise your client that our office has determined that no federal charges will be brought in the Middle District of Florida relating to alleged acts of cyberstalking,” the letter reads.

Broadwell, the one-time biographer of Gen. Petraeus, was under investigation for allegedly harassing a Florida socialite named Jill Kelley. Emails sent to Kelley warning her to stay away from the Gen. Petraeus as well as Gen. John Allen, the US commander in Afghanistan, provoked the recipient to ask for help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI was brought in to conduct a probe of those emails, only to in turn uncover an affair between Broadwell and Gen. Petraeus.

Gen. Petraeus admitted to a relationship with Broadwell early last month and announced his resignation immediately.

“After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment from engaging in an extramarital affair,” said the general. “Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours.”

In the aftermath of Petraeus’ announcement, Washington became affixed on the topic of the affair and questions emerged relentlessly regarding whether or not the relationships both on and off the Internet between all parties involved compromised national security.

Only weeks before his resignation, Petraeus headed the CIA during the storming of a US consulate building in Libya that left four Americans dead and many questions unanswered. In the days between the September 11, 2012 assault in Benghazi and Petraeus’ resignation, Broadwell spoke openly about the event, leading some to suggest that she was privy to top-secret intelligence.

The emails sent to Kelley led the FBI to open up an investigation on Gen. Allen that is still ongoing.